Brad Miller is 35 years old living with Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy. Becker muscular dystrophy is a disorder that involves slowly worsening muscle weakness of the legs and pelvis. To bring awareness of his disability, Brad decided to test drive several cars to determine which cars are the best for people with disabilities and wrote about the experience in his blog. After a few months, Brad came up with 10 vehicles that made the cut.

2011 Toyota Sienna
It looks like Toyota they have created is a vehicle that is fully customizable and can easily be made accessible for anyone who requires the use of a wheelchair or a mobility scooter. Toyota even provides the option of having a Power Mobility Seat installed to help make it easier to get in and out.

2011 Dodge Grand Caravan
My first impression of the 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan was that Dodge did a great job of creating a vehicle that can accommodate the needs of many different groups of people, including those with disabilities.

2011 Honda Odyssey
With its low step-in height, the Odyssey is one of the easiest mini-vans to get in and out of. My test minivan featured leather seats which really did help make it very easier to slide into the front and rear seats.

2012 Mazda 5
The greatest thing about the Mazda 5 is its ride height which results in a vehicle that very easy to get in and out of for those with disabilities who struggle getting up from a low seated position.

2012 Chevrolet Equinox
I was impressed with the layout of the interior since the dash was designed to surround the driver putting everything at your fingertips and making it very easy to access the radio, cruise control, and climate control buttons. Another available feature many people will find useful is the optional back-up camera which is uniquely placed in the rear-view mirror allowing the driver to keep their eyes focused in the right place.

2011 Dodge Journey
One of the features people with disabilities will find very useful is the steering wheel mounted controls which allow drivers to operate a wide range of features found.

2011 Scion xB
Its design really helps to make it a vehicle that can be easily modified to suit the needs of a wide variety of people with disabilities including those who use manual wheelchairs.

2011 Nissan Rogue
I found the step-in height made it a very easy vehicle to get in and out of. I liked the Intelligent Key system which completely eliminates the issue of having to take a key out of your pocket to unlock or start the vehicle.

2011 Nissan Quest
Features include power lift gate and the very useful one-touch power side sliding doors. With the rear lift gate open and the rear seats folded down the 2011 Nissan Quest is fully capable of transporting large scale mobility devices, such as power wheelchairs and scooters.

2012 Honda Civic Coupe
The first thing I noticed about the 2012 Civic was that the driver and front passenger doors opened at a 90-degree angle which really helps give users of manual wheelchairs easier access.

Author: Jenny Carlton

Jenny originally from Ohio (the buckeye state) moved to Chicago over 2 years ago. She has adjusted well in the big city and doesn’t even mind the cold winters, since Cleveland’s weather is pretty much the same as it is in Chicago, but with more snow. Jenny is an active, adventurous person, who loves to travel, participate in outdoor activities, and try new things.

I think these cars would be pretty convenient to people with disabilities. I think the designs and features are especially done for their comfort. Business wise, this could be another source of market for car dealers and makers.

Greg

Any advice for manual wheelchair users who need a vehicle that loads their chair on the driver’s side? Ideally, side door access, low height and seat that can be removed or moved back. Currently have a Lexus sedan and store in trunk and use crutches to get back to driver’s seat.

Jcarlto1

Hi, you may want to check out the 2012
Honda Civic Coupe and the 2011 Scion xB. Please go to this link it explains in further about each car.

If you are seriously considering purchasing a Wheelchair Accessible vehicle or even to just get some more advice about what vehicle might be best for you and to explore your vehicle option check out Rollx Vans (www.rollxvans.com). They are a great company located in Savage, MN who specializes in handicap accesible vans.

Sbonelo

hi, my problem is that i don’t have a left hand so i am unable to change the car gears and switching on and off the indicators. do you have a car that would be able to suit my needs?

Bob Lujano

I would reccommend that one would first work with the dealer to discuss modified options. Secondly, I would talk with any automtive dealer or business to see what would be an option for using modified equipment. Finally, I would talk with medical supply companies that specialize in modified driving equipoment to see what would be affordable. When I bought my car, I was given a rebate in which I used to pay for modified equipment. I hope this helps. Thank you.

mamuye

i want buy car with disable

bobl07

Please contact me at bobl@lakeshore.org if interested in finding a vehicle for a person with a disability.